Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical
|website = TonyAwards.com }} The Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical is awarded to the best actress in a musical, whether a new production or a revival. The award has been given since 1948, but the nominees who did not win have only been publicly announced since 1956.Gelb, Arthur. "Popularizing the 'Tony' Awards", The New York Times, April 1, 1956, p.93 History The award was not presented in 1947 or 1985.Freedman, Samuel G. The New York Times, June 3, 1985, p.C15 Ken Mandelbaum wrote about the 1985 season: "Things get bad enough musically to require the elimination of the Best Musical Actor and Actress categories, as well as the choreography prize."Mandelbaum, Ken."Ken Mandelbaum's Aisle View: Tony Highs And Lows" playbill.com, May 11, 1997 There have been three ties in this category, in 1958, 1962 and 1968.History, Ties in Tony History" tonyawards.com, accessed June 13, 2014 Winners and nominees 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s Multiple wins ;4 Wins * Angela Lansbury ;3 Wins * Mary Martin * Gwen Verdon ;2 Wins * Lauren Bacall * Christine Ebersole * Sutton Foster * Patti LuPone * Liza Minnelli * Donna Murphy * Bernadette Peters * Chita Rivera Multiple nominations ;8 Nominations * Chita Rivera ;6 Nominations * Sutton Foster * Kelli O'Hara * Bernadette Peters ;5 Nominations * Patti LuPone * Donna Murphy * Gwen Verdon ;4 Nominations * Carol Channing * Angela Lansbury * Mary Martin ;3 Nominations * Julie Andrews * Jessie Mueller * Christine Ebersole * Dee Hoty * Dorothy Loudon * Audra McDonald * Ethel Merman * Liza Minnelli * Faith Prince ;2 Nominations * Lauren Bacall * Stephanie J. Block * Georgia Brown * Carolee Carmello * Kristin Chenoweth * Sandy Duncan * Nanette Fabray * Dolores Gray * Barbara Harris * Judy Kuhn * LaChanze * Beth Leavel * Beatrice Lillie * Rebecca Luker * Marin Mazzie * Patina Miller * Idina Menzel * Eva Noblezada * Laura Osnes * Tonya Pinkins * Alice Ripley * Sherie Rene Scott * Alexis Smith * Elaine Stritch * Inga Swenson * Nancy Walker Multiple character wins ;3 Wins * Anna Leonowens from The King and I * Mama Rose from Gypsy ;2 Wins * Desiree Armfeldt from A Little Night Music * Celie Harris Johnson from The Color Purple * Dolly Gallagher Levi from Hello, Dolly! Multiple character nominations ;5 Nominations * Mama Rose from Gypsy ;4 Nominations * Peter Pan from Peter Pan and Jerome Robbins' Broadway ;3 Nominations * Anna Leonowens from The King and I * Charity Hope Valentine from Sweet Charity * Mrs. Lovett from Sweeney Todd * Phyllis Rogers Stone from Follies ;2 Nominations * Amalia Balash from She Loves Me * Bess from Porgy and Bess * Celie Harris Johnson from The Color Purple * Desiree Armfeldt from A Little Night Music * Dolly Gallagher Levi from Hello, Dolly! * Dot / Marie from Sunday in the Park with George * Eliza Doolittle from My Fair Lady * Ella Peterson from Bells Are Ringing * Ensign Nellie Forbush from South Pacific * Fiona MacLaren from Brigadoon * Kim from Miss Saigon * Lilli Vanessi / Katharine from Kiss Me, Kate * Lily Garland / Mildred Plotka from On the Twentieth Century * Lizzie Curry from 110 in the Shade * Mother from Ragtime * Reno Sweeney from Anything Goes * Ruth Sherwood from Wonderful Town * Sarah Brown from Guys and Dolls * Velma Kelly from Chicago Musicals with multiple lead nominations * New Girl in Town – Thelma Ritter (winner) and Gwen Verdon (winner) * Company – Susan Browning and Elaine Stritch * Follies – Dorothy Collins and Alexis Smith (winner) * Chicago – Chita Rivera and Gwen Verdon * Annie – Dorothy Loudon (winner) and Andrea McArdle * Dreamgirls – Jennifer Holliday (winner) and Sheryl Lee Ralph * The Rink – Liza Minnelli and Chita Rivera (winner) * Black and Blue – Ruth Brown (winner) and Linda Hopkins * Guys and Dolls – Josie de Guzman and Faith Prince (winner) * Side Show – Alice Ripley and Emily Skinner * Urinetown – Nancy Opel and Jennifer Laura Thompson * Wicked – Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel (winner) * War Paint – Christine Ebersole and Patti LuPone * The Prom – Caitlin Kinnunen and Beth Leavel Multiple awards and nominations Actress who have been nominated multiple times in any acting categories | valign="top" | |} References External links * Internet Broadway Database Awards Archive * Official Tony Awards Website Archive Category:Theatre acting awards Category:Tony Awards Category:Awards established in 1948 Category:1948 establishments in the United States